BULLYING: The effects of bullying

EMILY EILERS
The issue of bullying has plagued many school systems in the US. We have all read about
issues of bullying causing students to take drastic measures to make the pain stop.
Unfortunately, many of these drastic measures have resulted in suicide and/or murder. In
2010, a 15-year-old immigrant from Ireland took her own life because of excessive bullying.
A New York Times article noted that the “defendants were accused of relentlessly tormenting
Ms. Prince” (Eckholm, 2011).

Even the president has taken a strong stance on the issue of bullying. He stated, “We’ve got
to dispel this myth that bullying is just a normal rite of passage” (Anderson, 2010).

In my work as a school teacher and principal, I have observed and dealt with numerous cases
of bullying. What is not discussed often enough is how these acts of bullying can cause long-
lasting effects for the victims.

Recently I watched a video about a young man who successfully sued his school district for
turning a blind eye to the abuses he suffered from bullies because he was gay. The vicious
acts he suffered lasted from middle school through his secondary-school years. Fortunately,
this young man had helpers who encouraged him to fight back against a system that
condoned the abuse. Unfortunately, many targets of bullies do not have the chance to fight
back. The bullying they suffer sometimes triggers other traumatic events they have suffered;
it sometimes even causes victims to become bullies themselves. The trickle-down effect thus
becomes an ugly reality for many sufferers.

The world of bullying has a life of its own. It takes no prisoners and its effects can be long
lasting and endemic in some cases. Recently, an individual I worked with shared with me
some of his personal secrets and how those personal secrets still plague his life today. He
shared with me tales of such extreme bullying that his parents had to remove him from the
private school they had sent him to, and educate him at home. This individual would not fit
the bill for what most people would say looks like a victim. He was often taller and heavier
than his peers.

Now in his early thirties, he tells his story with such energy that it is obvious that the pain and
trauma he suffered as a result of the vicious acts continues to affect him. He told me that he
dreaded the bus rides to school. He told me that kids would pull and twist his nipples on a
daily basis so that, at times, his nipples would bleed. This individual noted that his parents
made the decision to homeschool him because they could no longer endure the pain they
experienced in seeing their son tortured and humiliated.

I also recall conducting one of my first interviews as a new assistant principal. We were
interviewing for a hall-security position. The applicant, in expressing harrowing tales of his
experiences as a bus driver, shared a story with us about when a teenage girl was raped on his
bus while he was driving. Obviously, we did not hire this individual. However, we thought
about the child who had had to deal with that trauma and humiliation at the hands of others.
Although the perpetrators were dealt with, that certainly could not have provided much relief
to the victim. She will always possess the memories of that trauma.